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PESHAWAR, Apr 25 (APP):The Livestock and Dairy Development Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has successfully neutered 1514 stray dogs besides vaccinating around 5048 canines in seven divisions in the past year as part of its efforts to control rabies and stray dog overpopulation.
“The Livestock department had extended stray dog neutering programme from provincial metropolis to divisional level around an year earlier during which 1514 stray dogs were neutered,” informed by Muhammad Riaz Khan, Senior Veterinary Officer.
The initiative of dog neutering was initially launched in Peshawar in 2020 as a pilot project with the objective of controlling the population of stray dogs to eventually contain the deadly zoonotic disease of rabies caused by dog bites, Riaz told APP.
The drive was a replication of the WHO-recommended programme Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-return (TNVR) to control rabies and the overpopulation of street dogs, Riaz Khan explained.
Realising positive results in the form of a 50 percent decrease in cases of dog bite in Peshawar, the Livestock Department decided to extend the project at the divisional level.
He said the department has prepared a summary for extension of the drive to the whole of the province at district level wherein an operation theatre will be set up at Veterinary Hospital for neutering of stray dogs.
“The department has already started training of its staff members for operations to neuter the dog making them incapable of reproduction,” he said.
Apart of it, Riaz continued, the Livestock Department and Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) are jointly working over establishment of a `Dog Shelter Home’ in Peshawar at Regi Lalma area.
The shelter home will be a sanctuary for injured, disabled, sick and old stray dogs which will be provided food and necessary medicine.
PDA has proposed establishment of Dog Shelter Home at a four Kanal area of land to be constructed at a cost of around Rs. 15 million.
This would be a first ever government owned dog shelter home in the province and will serve as a role model for replication of the initiative in other districts.
Riaz informed that neutering of stray dog is proving beneficial in controlling deadly rabies disease.
The Livestock department has also sought fresh data of dog bites and rabies in Peshawar and its adjoining district from Health Department to evaluate the performance of the project.